Believers of Paradise

A R Z A A N

    The house was completely silent. I looked through my backpack once again, hoping that I grabbed everything I needed.

       I knew something was missing amongst my clothes, money, and food that was stuffed in my bag. So I walked over to my cupboard and picked up the picture that I look at every morning. Abba's picture.

      I eyed him. Many of our relatives said that in looks, I am exactly like my father. I went over him once, and then briefly looked at the little girl beside him.

     The photo was placed in my jacket pocket and zipped in there safely.

Uncle Rafi seemed to be in bed while I heard nothing much from Kadir so I assumed everyone was asleep. That is mostly what someone would expect at one in the morning.

I tiptoed to bhai's room, making as less noise as possible. The door squeaked and I winced at that. My eyes shut tight until I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.

Bhai stood near his bed, with a bag that was being zipped by him.

"Ready?" I asked.

     "To ruin our lives?" He said, not meeting my eyes. Rather, he went and grabbed a jacket from the closet. "Sure,"

      "Bhaiya, I promise you are going to thank me for getting out of this hell," I assured him. "Let's go,"

     I went out of the room while bhai spent a little amount of time, looking around. I didn't know whether it was for checking if he got everything he needed, or if it was to see the room that has been his since birth.

      I guess he didn't realize like I did that not an inch of this house was ours. Never since abba left us.

     "Let's just get out from the front door. Everyone is sleeping. No one will know," I said after bhai closed his room door.

      "Yeah," he seemed unsure about this.

      We walked to the front of the house as quietly as possible and the front door stood right in front of our eyes, meters away.

     I smiled at the thought of finally leaving this place. It was going to happen. I was going to get my freedom. I could do whatever I want, the exact second I'd step out of that door.

      So I went. I walked faster than bhai and went to the door my hand reaching the knob to twist it open when a dim light at this part of the house went on. My heart stopped and I couldn't look around.

     "Aunt Naima?" Bhai said behind me. That made me turn around.

      Amongst the dimly lit area of the house, at this one corner stood aunt Naima. She looked at us with tired and sad eyes. I didn't know what to say.

      "Aunt Naima..." I started. I should have known how to speak my mind. But she was way ahead of me.

     "Go," is the word that came out of her mouth.

      "What?" Bhai asked.

      "Leave this place, right now," she said again, her voice thick with tears. "Please. I don't want two other Kadirs in this world," she said. "Leave, and don't come back,"

       I hated admitting it. But I was a Kadir. Whether it was his arrogance, or disrespect or anything about him, I was like Kadir. Aunt Naima didn't know that. She always thought both bhai and I go for what's right. In reality though, I was even worse than Kadir. Only the boys around the neighbourhood have seen the worse that could be done by me.